September is the Perfect Time for Reading

So it's been a while. I finished reading the third installment in the "Game of Thrones" series, A Storm of Swords, yesterday. I have to say that this might have been my favorite so far out of the three books I've read of the A Song of Ice and Fire series. It was heartbreaking to lose some characters that I loved and cared about, and enjoyed reading about. Their story lines were exciting and controversial and now they're gone. Although I'm sure they'll only be replaced by new invigorating characters that arouse our interest and keep us reading about this fight for the iron throne.

On Friday I came down with a sickness that has left me feverish, tired, and with a terribly painful sore throat and hacking cough. In one day I finished yet another book, The Selection by Kiera Cass. This reminds me of a teenage romance version of The Hunger Games. Granted I have yet to read The Hunger Games series, but they are sitting on my desk awaiting my attention. I have, however, seen the movies. The Selection is a Harper Teen Romance and New York Times Bestseller. It's way above something my fifth graders could read, and boys will have no interest in it whatsoever, but I enjoyed the quick brain break from my usual reads. It was enjoyable and lovely. At 327 pages it was a quick read for me but it was really enjoyable. Not overly complicated and something I remember reading when I was teenager. Similar to The Hunger Games it focuses on a society in a restless state that is highly based on social status. In this world everyone belongs to a caste, and any caste that is 5 or below struggles to survive. Our main character, America, is named after a country that fought to stay united. You see, in this teen novel the United States of America have been dismantled due to severe bankruptcy and constant attacks from foreign countries looking to be paid back. 

After the U.S. was able to fight back and win some independence no one wanted to go back to a name that represented a country that fell, and so the U.S. gets renamed and becomes a monarchy. Here is where our heroine, America, comes in. She is in caste 5 which is reserved for artists (musicians, dancers, painters, etc.) and is generally poor as it is only three caste levels away from the bottom. America, being of age, enters into a competition known as "the selection," a competition featuring 35 young ladies fighting to win the heart of the prince, Maxon.

America originally does not want to enter this competition as she is in love with a young man named Aspen, but herein lies her problem: Aspen is from caste 6, a caste below her. Her parents want more for her, and unfortunately so does Aspen despite the love the two share for one another. Either way, heartbroken and terrified, America goes on to move into the palace and enjoy some steady meals and some pampering, and it helps that her parents continue to receive compensation for as long as she stays in the competition. America is originally hesitant and disliking of the prince, but as she gets to know him her heart opens to possibilities that she had never before considered. Who will she end up choosing ... a young prince who adores her, or a man that she fell in love with years before in a backyard tree house? Does America have what it takes to leave her caste and join the elite? Only time will tell as this is only the first book in a trilogy. I have the second book which I'll be reading now, and the third is due out sometime in 2014.

This teen romance novel is a combination of "The Bachelor" combined with some slight political unrest, similar to Hunger Games, but with less fighting to the death. The girls fighting for Maxon's hearts are regularly filmed and featured on TV, and yes public opinion does matter, as well the different girls' political and social affiliations. Can social status be pushed aside for love? This is a fun novel geared toward teenage girls who dream of Cinderella-esque scenarios. For us adults, it's a quick and endearing read.